Red Light
by MS
Summary: AU... Her smile was blinding him as she walked away in another man's arm. "Why did she choose him?" His mother could not answer. "Please get me out of this nightmare." "It's already too late to stop her." His mother was always right. :drama, angst:


MS

Summary: Syaoran lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. She was getting married at the moment and there was nothing he could do about it. He had lost her completely.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the CCS characters.

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**Red Light**

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He didn't really now when it happened. Or how it happened if he was truthful to himself. How was it that at this very moment Sakura was getting married to another man? And what the hell was he doing in his bed, in pajamas, like a moron instead of stopping her?

That almost got him moving. Until he remembered her shining eyes a few days before as she said good bye to him. She had broken his heart with the only words that could keep him back as she intertwined her hands with another man.

It still twisted his guts just thinking about it. It wasn't just the fact that she would soon have someone else's name, but the fact that her smiles would be for the other guy. The slight twist of her lips would be for a reason that would have nothing to do with him.

"Syaoran," he could hear his mother speaking his name, but he couldn't snap out of his thoughts. It felt like a surreal whisper as he turned his head to the door and saw the regal figure of his mother.

"Mother," he really didn't know what to say. Everyone knew what was going on. He had thought that all of them, including his mother, would have understood that he needed to be alone at this time. It was enough that he needed to keep himself sane while the minutes ticked by without having to worry about keeping sane conversation with someone else.

"Why are you here?" she walked towards him. She took in his appearance. He was wearing his pajamas, underneath the covers as if he hadn't even bothered to stand after waking up that morning. She looked to her watch for a second to make sure she had the time right, and just shook her head.

She had never seen him look so dejectedly. Wait, she was lying. That had only happened once before. It was when he had been prohibited from going back to Japan. Back to Sakura. Yae-ling truly hated to see such a sight. A parent never planned to see their children dejected and disappointed with life. Those who did truly had forgotten what it meant to be a parent.

She did the only thing she could do under the circumstances. Syaoran was a man, but he was her boy for as long as she lived. Yae-ling sat beside him, pulling him to her breast and cradled his head on her chest.

Syaoran did not try to pull away. He accepted her warmth, closing his eyes as he was enfolded in his mother's fragrance. It had been many years since she had done so. Still, it was a welcome comfort that he had almost forgotten.

"He was the better man, wasn't he?" his question startled her. She hadn't expected for him to broach the subject. Since he'd been a little boy Syaoran had tried to keep his problems and thoughts to himself. He had always been obedient and quick to the punch, and the only time he had found it in himself to speak about what he wanted for himself, it had always concerned Sakura.

Yae-ling was torn. Various reasons came to mind. She just comforted him as she knew how, running her fingers through his hair. She had already heard him take his frustrations through physical exertion and tears. His blank stare was all that was left as the clock ticked continuously.

The silence reigned, Syaoran just stared vacantly into the white walls of what had become his bedroom in this country. They were probably going to sell the house or find a lease. There was nothing left for him in this country now. Someone else could take over while his mother accompanied him home.

Life would continue passing and the world wouldn't the worst for wear. Only Syaoran would be.

"No, he is not," his mother's lyrical voice rang as she replied. He could almost say he didn't remember what he had said. His brain was jumping hurdles and thoughts just zipped right by.

"Why did she choose him then?" he was asking the questions that had been plaguing him since he had found out.

"Because she could," her prompt reply did not make sense to him.

"But I was also there."

He was broken.

"I really can't tell you how or why it came to this," his mother was doing her best to answer him truthfully. "Only that it did and you're the one that let this happen."

Syaoran's head shot upwards, his eyes blazing as he spouted a rebuttal to her statement. "I love her, and I told her so repeatedly."

His mother shook her head, disappointment visible in her every movement as she stood from the bed and looked to his prone form. It was almost disdainful.

"Did she ever tell you why she refused you?" her own question made him pause. Syaoran ran the many things Sakura had said to him as he recalled her words carefully. What was he supposed to say?

_Her smile was blinding him. Syaoran stood erect, his shoulders stiff as she leaned forward, pressing her lips to his cheek. He would have sworn he had seen moisture appear in her emerald eyes, the glassy effect coming to the light as she blinked under his straight gaze. _

_Syaoran's hands bunched against his side as the man before him extended his hand and Sakura blindly searched for it. She didn't even look or act like the girl he had known. _

_He was stuck in place, as if being ordered in a red light from a childhood game they used to play. He just couldn't move as she looked back, a misty expression on her eyes as she said goodbye. _

_He could feel the outline of his promise ring inside the envelope she had handed back to him. As they disappeared from sight, the light slipping away, he chose to put the envelope back into his pocket and head home. There was nothing left for him. _

That had been the last glance he had obtained of her. His heart still tugged, pressing against his chest as he clearly saw their entwined hands as she walked away from him.

"She chose him in the end," he sardonically smiled, a twist on his side as he looked down to his open palm. He had the urge to see that ring. He stood from the bed, stumbling as he took a few steps and reaching for the closet.

His mother looked from his side, curious as to what he was searching for as he pulled a disarray of clothing from his closet.

"Where is it?" he turned to her, a wild look in his eyes as his heart hammered painfully against his chest.

"What are you searching for?"

"I," Syaoran struggled to find the right words. It was hard to seem so needy and consumed in front of the mother that had always seen you display conformity and security. "There was an envelope with my things," he was sure his mother knew that he was talking about the clothes he last wore the week before.

"Oh," as if by magic, she extended her hand, handing him an envelope folded in half with his name written with flourish on top. He ran his fingers over the crawled letters, feeling as low as could be. "Where is the ring that was inside?"

"Ring? There was no ring," his mother opened her palm, handing him a note. "This is what was inside of it."

He reluctantly opened the pages, coming to some lines of a handwriting he was very familiar with.

_I'm sure by the time you read this, it won't matter. You are a very predictable fellow you know, that's what I'm counting on. I'm sure that just by seeing the key, you understand what I mean to convey without stating it in words. In the end, all that matters is that I am sorry. Those are words I cannot say to you in person, but I hope that in time you'll come to understand the reason for it and come to forgive me. I did not see any way for me to overcome this hurdle but to go through with it, and I'm sorry for the hurt it forces onto you. I love you Syaoran, and although I may be another man's wife by the time you read this, believe that this will not change no matter the circumstances. A part of me hopes that you will be here to stop me, to get me out of this nightmare, but I know better. Have no regrets though, I will love you always. _

_Ever yours, _

_Your Sakura _

The signature scrawl included her usual smiley face, which was all but a bit lopsided from her usual work.

"What?" his mother simply handed him the key. The star key that held all of her power. The star key that held so many memories of them all. What he had thought to be the ring he had given her, had been the outline of the loop as the other part had been cushioned by the other contents of the envelope.

"If nothing else can be said, she really did know you," she commented before brushing away the bangs that cluttered his face.

"I have to see her," he was in a whirlwind as he pulled some clothes from his hangers and started to get dressed.

"It's already well past the time. The ceremony should be over," her words deflated him for a moment. It was just a few seconds before he continued on a frenzy once again.

"Then I'll see her at the reception."

"They were going away as soon as the ceremony finished for their trip," Syaoran's temper flared at her words. He knew as much since he had been told just that by his cousin, since she had been involved in the wedding preparations.

He had the urge to chuck something shiny and fragile against the wall and have it shatter into satisfying pieces. He couldn't do it though. At least not in front of his mother.

"Where are you going?" she inquired as she saw him reach for the keys to his car and make for the door.

"Probably drive off a big cliff and tumble into an abyss. It may piece me together again," the scarce words prompted her to action. She placed herself in front of the door, reaching for his face and framing his cheeks with her palms.

"You should wait," her words were enough to keep him in place as she took the keys from his hands. She was sure that he would do just as he had proposed. Her son could be many things, but he was also impulsive and stubborn. She needed to hold him off for a couple of minutes. Just a few minutes.

"What for?" he was mortified as he felt his eyes fill with moisture. He did not want her to see him cry. "I knew I shouldn't have let her go but she's gone."

"Things won't always be still," his mother smiled. "Just wait a few minutes."

There was a door opening and closing with a sharp thud. Hushed voices came from bellow as hurried heels struck the hardwood floor. She led him away from the door, finding it flung open behind them by the last person Syaoran had expected to see.

Sakura stood before them, harsh, hurried breaths, clad in an elaborate white wedding dress. She let the fabric fall, pooling at her sides as she flung herself against him. His mother discreetly walked to the door and closed it softly.

"What are you doing here? Not that I mind, but I thought," he couldn't believe she was there as he rambled on, standing before him, crying softly as she laid kisses all over his face.

"I didn't marry him," her words were all that mattered. "I fervently hoped that you would come to stop me, but I was able to do it myself." Of course, with a little help from a couple of loop holes she jumped through and a very dear pool of close friends.

"I was going to go after you," they were sheepish words, comments unheeded as he pulled her for a close hug, inhaling her, feeling her. She was actually there.

"You were going to be pretty late," she teased, pulling him down for a kiss. "Traffic has been murder as of late as well. I would have been thousands of feet in the air by the time you would have made it to the wedding."

"I would have found a way to you," he pulled at the elaborate hairstyle she had, the pins falling from her hair in a cascade. "I'm too selfish to have let you go out of my grasp for long."

"I'm sorry," the words she had said on her note came gushing forth as he brought her hands to his face, the ring he had given her months before back on her finger. It glittered against the white of her gloves. She hadn't taken it off. Right where she was supposed to have the other man's ring, declaring her married and out of reach, was his own ring.

"I hurt you so much, could you forgive me?" He nodded, his thoughts flying in all directions.

"I know that you were in a stressful situation," Syaoran did not want to go into her reasons. She was there, and that's what mattered. He tried to pick her up, earning a squeal from her as he realized what the problem was. "I could have been included to help you though, you know. I would have done anything."

"I know," she lightly tapped his nose, brushing her thumbs against his whiskered face. He hadn't bothered to shave, his jaw shadowed by the hairs that had taken advantage of his absentmindedness. "But there were extenuating circumstances. It was thanks to Tomoyo and Meiling that I was able to find a way out of this without having to have others get involved and punished for the breach."

"Meiling?" he was surprised. He had never expected his cousin to have done something helpful for Sakura. There was a bit of animosity on her part where Sakura was concerned when it came to her.

"She told me we're going to owe her our first born child," her teasing laughter was filled with joy as she made the teasing statement. Although a true statement it had been and she was sure that Meiling was never going to let them forget it.

"First born?" he chose to focus on those words as a blush scattered on her face. She really was beautiful.

"What are you trying to do?" she asked as he proceeded to take her long white gloves off. He was careful to place the ring back in place while he threw the material onto the floor. There it lay, forgotten and unessential to his purpose.

"I'm going to scandalize you so that you won't have any choice but to marry me," was his reply before he carried her bridal style, appropriate with her attire, making sure that the door was locked before tipping her over his bed. "I'll start working on the first born so that we can appease my beastly cousin."

Sakura just wound her hands around his neck as he pulled her upward, kissing her fervently. Sakura parted from him, dizzy and pliant before she thought of a much better plan.

"What you should so is marry me right now so that they won't be able to find some way to make me go through with this wedding they have for me," that gave him a pause.

"You're right!" She was taken in with the tide. Before she knew it, he was whisking her away as his mother gave her a warm kiss, handing her her passport, which surprised her. A giggling Meiling simply gave them her blessing as she ushered them into his car.

"You guys are going to owe me when you return," were her pragmatic words before she waved to them from the gates.

Sakura could only reciprocate in kind as Syaoran drove through the streets like a maniac. She knew that Meiling had to go to further length to make sure their plan worked with absolute certainty. Something had to be said about his skills though since he was able to curve the traffic at his will, running through many red lights to honking horns and irate drivers, and made it to his personal hangar in record time.

"I'm going to get you out of the country and married in no time. How does Mexico sound to you?"

"It sounds marvelous. We'll just have to buy a new wardrobe," she was ever so glad to have him whisk her away.

"Clothing you won't be my first priority."

"I love you Syaoran," her confession was not surprising. Still, it was very much welcomed by him as it had been some time since he had heard those words come from her lips.

The day had started so bleak and now it was full of promises. He twirled her through, her dress circling and adding to the momentum as he kissed her thoroughly. She had managed to make her way back to him, and he would make sure she would stay by his side for the rest of the bumpy ride of life.

There was no standstill anymore.

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So the idea grew and I think I'm leaving a lot of detail out since this could have worked as a multi chaptered story with all the ideas that bounced into my mind, but it should work. This is done though and hopefully good enough to tide you guys over until I update again.

MS

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